Trolley for electric railways



(NoMode1.)-

G. H. ALTON.

TEoLLEY EOE ELECTRIC EAILWAYS.

Nrrnn Sfrnrns ATENT FFICiEe GEORGE Il. ALTON, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THF. THOMSON- HOUSTON ELEOTRICCOMPANY, OF CONNECTICUT.

TROLLEY FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.'463,765, dated November 24, 1891.

Application filed February 16, 1891. Serial No. 381,541. (No model.)

T all? whom it may concern- Be it known that I, GEORGE H. ALTON, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Lynn, in the count-y of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolleys for Electric Railways, of which thefollowing is a speciiication.

The purpose of the invention is to provide ro a trolley which may be used on an electric railway where extreme variations in the elevation of the supply-conductor above the road-bed takes place-as, for example, in mining installations, where the conductor outside the mine will be placed at a considerable height, but inside the mine it is brought down to within a short distance ofI the car. Another situation in which the same condition of affairs is likely to arise is in mill or '2o factory roads, where different buildings are located at some distance apart and it is desired to transport goods from one to another without changing cars. Again, where there is a tunnel on the line of an electric railway the same change in elevation of the conductor will ordinarily be necessitated.

To adapt the trolley to a conductor varying in elevation, as above described, I provide it with a folding or other supplementary end 3o section,.which may either be secured in position in line with the main trolley-pole or removed therefrom, so as to form a trolley-pole of greater-or less length to correspond with the different elevations of the conductor. This will be readily understood from the following specific description and the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure l is a side view representing an electric railway at two points of the line, the elevation of the conductor being considerably changed, and Fig. 2 is a detail view of a part of the trolley-pole.

In the figures, A represents a trolley-pole pivoted at its lower end and pressed upward by a spring in the customary manner'into contact with the under side of a suspended supply-conductor C. To the outer end of the portion A, which for convenience is herein referred to as the main pole, is pivoted a 5o supplementary end section A', provided with a wheel or other contact-maker a. Means for attaching this end section to the main pole may be varied largely, as there are many mechanical contrivances which would allow the folding of the end section down beside the main pole, as in Fig. l, or the securing` of it rigidly in -a position forming an extension of the main pole, as in full lines, Fig. 1. My invention therefore aims to cover all means for accomplishing this purpose so far as this may 6o be possible or proper; but I recommend the specific mechanism shown in Fig. 2 as convenient for this purpose, which consists of a link B, pivoted to the two sections of the trolley, and a sliding sleeve S, which, when in the full-line position, serves as a catch, holding the two parts in alignment. To the main pole there is attached a second contact-maker D, which, as shown, extends or projects beyond the joint in the pole, so that it is in a 7o proper position for making contact with the conductor when the end section is folded down, as in the right-hand view, Fig. 1.

The variations of elevation of the cony ductor are illustrated in Fig. l, and the pole described can, as will be understood from the above, be readily adjusted in length to correspond with the different elevations and allow the carto run over both sections of road, while maintaining the contact device in engage- 8o ment with a 'substantially uniform springpressure on each section.

I claim--- l. The combination, with a trolley having two contacts, of a suspended conductor having a lower portion engaging with one of such contacts and a higher portion out of reach of esaid contact when the latter is in normal operative position, but engaged by the other COIlltaCt. 9o

2. A trolley-pole carrying two contact portions for making contact with a suspended conductor at different heights, one of such portions being adj ustably attached to the pole.

3. A trolley-pole having a main section carrying a contact device and an adjustable supplementary section carrying an additional contact device, the said two contact devices making contact with different portions of a conductor.

4. A trolley-pole comprising a main section and a supplemental folding section having IOO means for securing it in position, and two contact devices carried, respectively, by said sections and making contact with a conductor at different elevations.

5. A trolley-pole having a inain section, a supplementary section adjustably attached to said main section, and a clamp or catch engaging with such sections and joining them rigidly together.

6. A trolley-pole having two sections folding together, with a sleeve or catch engaging with such sections and joining them rigidly together.

7. A trolley-pole comprising a folding section and contact-makers attached, respectively, to said section and the main pole.

8. A trolley-pole comprising a folding end section and a contact-maker attached to the main pole, but extending beyond the joint in the pole, as described.

9. The combination of a suspended conductor changing elevations, as described, with a trolley springpressed into contact With the conductor, comprising a suppleinentary end section movable into and out of operative position to make the total length of the pole correspond to the elevation of tho conductor.

GEORGE H. ALTON. VVtnesses:

JOHN W. GIBBONEY, BENJAMIN B. HULL. 

